The Turkish city of Gaziantep has been named the winner of the “European Award 2025,” established by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).
Representatives of the Turkish government, parliamentarians, the mayor of the Gaziantep Municipality, Fatma Şahin, and PACE representatives attended the press conference to announce the award .
Şahin called the “European Award 2025” “a worthy result of the joint efforts of the city’s residents and administration to meet the strict requirements of the Council of Europe.
” She recalled that the “European Award” was established in 1955, and this year, the competition raged between Gaziantep, Augsburg and Münster in Germany, Birštonas in Lithuania, Płońsk in Poland, and Vinnytsia in Ukraine. Vinnytsia and Gaziantep advanced to the final round.
“The PACE voted overwhelmingly in favor of the Gaziantep model of local administration,” the head of the city’s municipality emphasized, noting that environmental protection measures, including the active generation of energy from waste, were a key factor in their choice of the Turkish city.
Fuat Oktay, head of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, also spoke of the appropriateness of the PACE decision.
He called Gaziantep a “mosaic of cultures” and a “platform for peace.
” “Gaziantep has been and remains a symbol of brotherhood and assistance,” Oktay said, noting that the residents of this southern city have never refused to help the people of the region.
At the same time, he expressed regret that Europeans are often unaware of the realities of Turkey. “False fears cannot form the basis for steps to build a shared future with Turkey,” Oktay emphasized.
Abdulhamit Gül, deputy head of the ruling Justice and Development Party’s parliamentary faction, drew attention to the fact that hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees have been living in Gaziantep for the past 13 years. “Despite all the difficulties, we have not abandoned the principles of humanism, keeping our doors open to our Syrian brothers and continuing to assist the refugees,” he noted.
Gül also pointed out that Gaziantep is located “on the frontline of NATO’s southern flank,” underscoring the importance of the province, which has a population of over two million.
A photo exhibition dedicated to successful projects and programs implemented in Gaziantep with the support of the Council of Europe was held on the sidelines of the event.
